Date: Wed, 21 Feb 1996 10:29:00 -0800 (PST)
From: Richard Isaac
Subject: (WA) ANTI-GAY INITIATIVE BACKERS FOUND GUILTY OF PUBLIC DISCLUSURE VIOLATIONS
Greetings,
The Washington Committee for Equal Rights Not Special Rights, backers of
the failed anti-gay Initiative 166, have been found guilty of four
violations of public disclosure law, and have been fined $500.00.
In a February 20 hearing, four commissioners unanimously found the
WCERNSR guilty of:
* failing to report employer and occupation information for large
contributors;
* failing to report names and addresses of smaller contributors;
* failing to report aggregate totals for repeat contributors; and
* failing to file reports in a timely manner.
The vote on the $500.00 penalty was 3-1, with the lone dissenter favoring
stiffer fines, calling the violations "flagrant."
The case was presented for the state by Assistant Attorney General John
Gerberding, who called the violations "intentional," and urged a "strong
penalty," saying the WCERNSR "flaunted the law until the last minute" and
that the "public's right to know was not satisfied."
Gerberding questioned WCERNSR treasurer Peg Bronson, and chairman John
Vasko. Vasko pleaded guilty to negligence and tardiness, but not to
willful violations. Vasko was put on the spot regarding his statement in
the Seattle Times (2 December 1995) that it was "no big deal" to "miss
stuff" on public disclosure forms, but persisted in claiming that the
Bigot Busters complaint which sparked the hearings was "petty harassment."
Bronson complained that she had received little instruction on how to
fill out the forms when she took on the job of treasurer and received no
help from the board. As to why she did not even file reports for October
through December 1995, she said she feared incurring fines for reporting
incorrect information, and thought it better to report none at all.
Ross Peterson, senior finance specialist at the Public Disclosure
Commission, testified on behalf of the state that the WCERNSR's
irregularities extended as far back as the summer of 1994, when they
claimed they were "too busy collecting signatures" for Initiative 608 to
report the required information. The same pattern of violations occurred
in 1995. When Bigot Busters filed its complaint, Peterson found it
"substantially correct" and found other violations as well. The WCERNSR
failed to respond to the complaint in any way until two months later,
after the hearings were scheduled.
By providing some information at the last minute, the WCERNSR evaded four
other charges: exceeding the limit on anonymous contributions; failure to
provide addresses for vendors; failure to provide receipts for
reimbursements and failure to provide a "small contributor" list. Still,
the PDC found the response late and lacking.
Since the WCERNSR is in the red and disbanded in early February 1996, the
officers on the organizations will be held personally responsible for the
fine incurred.
Bigot Busters Treasurer Richard Isaac, who attended the hearing, was
pleased with the outcome. "It's on the record that a year of serious
violations of the public interest cannot be shrugged off. Those who
would write laws must obey them too."
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